By Klaus-Dieter Floerecke, Automotive News
Witten, Germany -- HP Pelzer Group, a global supplier of acoustic components, has been taken over by its three top executives and an Italian private equity group.
Pelzer's three co-leaders -- Frank Sandfort, Klaus Schumann and Luca Warnke -- have acquired 51 percent of the company's shares. The Adler Group, of Turin, Italy, holds the remaining 49 percent. Adler produces acoustic components and plastic trim parts for vehicle interiors.
Previously, a syndicate led by Goldman Sachs owned Pelzer, which was hit hard by the global economic crisis and auto industry downturn.
Pelzer has received fresh financing with a loan from a consortium led by Deutsche Bank AG. The loan has been guaranteed by the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Pelzer said its automotive customers are supporting the company's realignment with new contracts.
"The current order situation at Pelzer is promising," said Schumann, the supplier's chief marketing officer.
Pelzer and Adler "complement each other excellently, with their differing customer bases and geographic footprint," Pelzer said in a statement.
Pelzer employs 5000 people in 37 production sites and five development sites in 18 countries, including five locations in the US and three in Mexico. In 2009, the company had sales of about Euros 478 million or about $645 million.
Pelzer's products include all types of engine and passenger compartment sound insulation, as well as boot insulation and trim, many of these made from polyurethane materials.
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